Learning to type

[supton]

I "learned" in high school, which means I had to teach myself when I wisened up in college. My kids are getting good at reading, but this weekend I noticed issues with them finding letters on a keyboard. The oldest is eight so I'm not worried: but I have to wonder: should I teach them the qwerty board, or should they move past that to something else? Seems funny, to me at least, that likely they will learn how to use a layout designed in the 19th century to avoid mechanical issues on their 21st century devices!

I wonder when a good age is to learn how to type. I'm thinking earlier is better, school reports can't be far behind. I think they still teach cursive here, but I've heard that cursive is on it's way out.

 

[simple_gifts]

My father tried to take typing in the early 50's but was told the classes were only for girls; he found a way to take the classes.

I learned on IBM Selectrics in the early 1980s; by far one of "the best" skills to have, regardless of keyboard layout learned. QWERTY is not going away; it is as entrenched as inches, feet, miles.

I work in IT and am surprised the # of people who can't type.

 

[jorton]

I'm not sure, but I've heard cursive is not taught here anymore. Does that mean in the future a signature will be printed?

As long as the keyboard is not obsolete, typing is an important skill.

 

[GumbyJarvis]

Sadly, cursive is on it's way out. Typing has become the go-to method of reports etc.
I'm only 22, but I did learn cursive in elementary school, then 6th grade was all written, 7th started the "double spaced typed reports" where typing class became mandatory for 7th and 8th graders.

I can type very well, and I can write legibly on paper, if and when I have kids, and they don't "have to" learn cursive except their name like most school districts now a days do, their summers going to be learning cursive via me.

I write letters home, it's in cursive, pretty much any writing I do except for job related military paperwork, is in cursive.

 

[GumbyJarvis]

And to question the QWERTY style keyboards, they do have issues and they have alternates to it. From what I remember, qwerty was created because you can spell "typewriter" with the top row.

I can type fairly well on qwerty keyboards, though a few years back I swapped to Dvorak keyboards.
Too bad I can't get it on my iPad.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard

 

[dparm]

Many states have dropped cursive, and I say good riddance. It's a throwback to when we wrote with a quill. I haven't used it since they made us copy D'Nealian letters hundreds of times in 1st grade.

 

[supton]

For some reason I get laughed at for my signature, it's cursive but with lots of flair. Others just use cursive. I don't get that, it's supposed to be hard for anyone else to replicate!

My normal handwriting, well that is hard to read, let alone replicate.... I alternate between cursive and block, whatever is faster and easier as I go along.

I will look into that Dvorak keyboard. Well, research that vs qwerty. I don't see myself changing but I'd like for them to start on that which will serve them well.

 

[Donald]

Mavis Beacon typing app. for the PC.

When I was in HS typing was not for college prep students only for the secretary students (girls).

I can do what I need to do on a keyboard, but am certainly not a good typist.

Some of the MS keyboards force you to use the proper hand for the letters by the way the keyboard is split.

 

[JHZR2]

I always found cursive to be harder/slower than printing. Typing can be learned easily and at a later age. IMO the removal of many traditional skills at a young age (cursive, much of music and arts programs, violin and recorder teaching in third grade, etc.) is sad. Were falling behind in the world because of idiotic parents and not because of teaching traditional subjects at a young age.

I have no issue with youngsters learning proper typing skills early. However, it would be sensible for this to be an additional skill, not a replacement.

Many parents are using American Sign Language to help communication with babies before they can cognitively speak. Ours uses signals all the time now, as has many of our friends babies, That's just another part of parenting. IMO given computer use at young ages, typing skills will be a part of parenting at a young age more and more too... That means typing skills not necessarily to write anything, but to teach the motor and muscle habits.

 

[GumbyJarvis]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
I always found cursive to be harder/slower than printing. Typing can be learned easily and at a later age. IMO the removal of many traditional skills at a young age (cursive, much of music and arts programs, violin and recorder teaching in third grade, etc.) is sad. Were falling behind in the world because of idiotic parents and not because of teaching traditional subjects at a young age.

I have no issue with youngsters learning proper typing skills early. However, it would be sensible for this to be an additional skill, not a replacement.

Many parents are using American Sign Language to help communication with babies before they can cognitively speak. Ours uses signals all the time now, as has many of our friends babies, That's just another part of parenting. IMO given computer use at young ages, typing skills will be a part of parenting at a young age more and more too... That means typing skills not necessarily to write anything, but to teach the motor and muscle habits.


And a lot of countries do similar stuff.
Here foreign language is normally a high school thing, but in some countries, kids can start Spanish, French, German, and even Chinese at a elementary school level.
Been studied before, starting a foreign language at a younger age more is retained and learned than starting in the late teens as in high school.
ie, Spanish-English bilinguals with a Spanish parent, around it as a kid, you pick up on both languages.

 

[LazyPrizm]

Here in Montgomery county, several public schools offer French, Spanish and now Chinese immersion programs from K-6. All core classes are taught in the foreign language. Quite popular.

You might want to google around for some games that teach touch typing. Mavis Beacon's all well and good but I think kids would stick with a game more. I "learned" using Paws on an Apple ][ (horrible keyboards), I remember finding a "Mario Teaches Typing" for one of the neighbors to give to her kids many years later. That one was actually pretty fun.

 

[DoiInthanon]

My dad, born in the early twenties, could type extremely fast. He was at Gallups Island on D-day trying to pass Merchant Marine Radioman School. Typing at a very high rate was required to graduate.

Aboard ship incoming code was typed as received. Then he would decrypt the message and type a set of copies for distribution. One radio officer on duty at a time. He said there were two typewriters. One set up and ready for incoming traffic at all times. The other with the plain language message in process. He was almost continuously at sea from early 1942 until late 1945.

Even in his old age, he would tune in Morse code on the radio and type the four letter bursts as fast as they came across the air. His fingers could fly. We still have his code key. He tried to show us how to send, but was hard to match his rate. They all bought the special "speed" keys for their own use. He claimed to be able to recognize different operators sending code based upon their pace and key.

I have often thought of sitting in a radio room shift after shift for three years at sea. A different era. Different men.

 

[Quest]

I was a 1-finger deal until about 10 yrs ago: finally cut to the chase and decided to learn using Mavis Beacon ....got good enough practice to where I am now in just mere days...

Q.

 

[OVERKILL]

I learned when I was around 8. Was pretty good by the time I was 10. I can type 145wpm when I am "in the groove". This also explains why my posts are often novels

 

[wkcars]

I also learned to type with mavis beacon.

 

[JerryBob]

QWERTY is not going anywhere. I find cursive to be much faster. You don't have to lift your pen from the paper as you write.

 

[ronbo]

Qwerty was created , to slow fast typist down in the age of manual mechanical typewriter keyboards. The would jam the levers together. There are other keyboard layout that are far more efficient and faster.

+1 for Mavis Beacon typewriter program

 

[Shannow]

I guess that I'm the only one on the board with a certificate in MS Word Perfect 5.1...I topped my class of girls first year out of Uni...

As to writing, each of the voices in my head (it seems) writes differently, cursive, printing, big and little caps (when I drafted my thesis, Dad's advice for submitting it to typing was big and little caps...dunno)

Can still only manage 4-5 fingers typing 'though.